January 31, 2008Quebecor World U.K. subsidiary in receivership
MONTREAL—Quebecor World PLC, a U.K. subsidiary of Quebecor World Inc., has gone into receivership, the company announced this week. The web offset facility, based in Corby, U.K., has been struggling since losing a key contract three years ago, and despite major investments and contributions, has been unable to turn it around. The directors of Quebecor World PLC appointed two representatives from Ernst & Young LLP as joint administrators on Jan. 28 and a sale of the business is possible. The Corby facility is in central U.K., north of London. It specializes in magazines, catalogues and specialty print products, and has almost 300 employees.

Millenium Printing goes for Mitsubishi Diamond
CONCORD, ON—Millenium Printing has added a Mitsubishi Diamond 3000 TP 8-colour Tandem perfector press with in-line coater to its pressroom. The full-service company, which prints everything from envelopes to magazines, has been in business more than 12 years, and recently moved to a new 40,000 sq. ft. facility in Concord, Ont.

With the new Tandem Perfector press are Robbie Dhanju, left and Pal Dhanju, vice president and president of Millenium Printing.

January 29, 2008The Print Key buys Sharp Business Forms and Bell Label
MISSISSAUGA, ON—The Print Key has bought all the assets of Sharp Business Forms and Bell Label. The Print Key, a sister company of Guelph, Ont.-based Fastforms, will now be called The Print Key-Sharp while the Bell Label name will remain the same. The Print Key is a trade manufacturer specializing in short-run continuous forms, cheques, and register forms; Fastforms does medium- to long-run continuous forms, snap sets and inkjet variable imaging. The addition of Bell Label and Sharp Business Forms will expand those companies’ offerings to incorporate ID cards, bar code labels and product hang tags. Bell Label manufacturing will be a separate division operating out of Fastform’s Guelph location, and Sharp Business Forms orders made through The Print Key will be done at either the Fastforms location in Guelph or The Print Key’s manufacturing plant in Mississauga, depending on requirements.
In early December, PrintCAN reported that Sharp Business Forms and Bell Label had gone into receivership.

November shipments up
OTTAWA—November printing shipments enjoyed another good month following a healthy October. The shipments were the highest so far this year, according to the latest figures from Statistics Canada. Year-to-date figures are only a hair behind the 2006 numbers. Note that these numbers are not seasonally adjusted.

Shipments

2007

2006

Change

October

$922.26 million

$828.45 million

11.3%

Year to date

$9.02 billion

$9.06 billion

-.44%

January 24, 2008Aivars Beikmanis out at Grafikom
TORONTO—As of last Friday Grafikom co-CEO Aivars Beikmanis is no longer with the company, current CEO Gord Griffiths confirmed yesterday. Beikmanis had been CEO of Grafikom since November 2005 and is the former president of the Quebecor World Specialty Group in Canada. He led the management buyout of Grafikom from Quebecor World in 2005. Gord Griffiths became co-CEO in the fall of 2007. Grafikom is one of the largest networked printing companies in Canada, and employs more than 700 people.

Holland & Crosby to install North America’s first Inca Onset
MISSISSAUGA—Mississauga based-printer Holland & Crosby is set to install an Inca Onset, large-format digital inkjet flatbed press, the first of its kind in North America. Due to arrive next Thursday, the Onset was purchased from Fujifilm and will be used to print POP displays and signage, which Holland & Crosby specialize in. The Onset prints in both satin and gloss mode, and at speeds of 500 sq. m. per hour. It has almost 600 printheads and more than 70,000 inkjet nozzles and requires only 20 minutes of set-up time each day. Holland & Crosby has been in business for 75 years and employs 30 people.

January 22, 2008Trade Watch—Another slow month on the trade front
OTTAWA—November data from Statistics Canada expose another slow month of trading activity, with both imports and exports falling, just as they did in October. Exports to the U.S. dropped to $92.93 million, down from $112.22 at the same time last year. Imports from the U.S. also slid, coming in at $75.42 million in 2007, compared to $97.8 million in November of 2006. Imports from China dropped slightly to $16.31 million, down from $17.50 million last year.

EXPORTS

2007

2006

Change

November

$116.29 million

$135.77 million

-14.4%

Year to date

$1.32 billion

$1.44 billion

-8.4%

IMPORTS

2007

2006

Change

November

$106.25 million

$128.27 million

-17.2%

Year to date

$1.26 billion

$1.23 billion

2.5%

January 21, 2008Quebecor World files for creditor protection
MONTREAL—Quebecor World is filing for creditor protection after missing yesterday’s deadline to strike a financing deal with its bankers, the company announced today. “Today’s filing is the result of industry pressures, particularly in Europe, combined with the inability of the company to raise new capital in the current market environment and the inability to complete the sale of its European operations,” said Quebecor World president and CEO Jacques Mallette in a prepared statement. The company had a deadline of 9 a.m. yesterday to satisfy the conditions of its $400 million bailout package with private equity fund Tricap Partners and parent company Quebecor Inc., which was rejected by the banks. The company also said today it has secured a $1 billion financing deal with banks Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse to meet all existing operating needs, such as wages, benefits and other operating expenses. Quebecor World’s application for protection will take place today in Quebec Superior Court.

January 17, 2008Quebecor World shares plummet
MONTREAL—Quebecor World’s common shares hit a new low of 18¢ yesterday morning before closing at 18.5¢ on the TSX, following the company’s failure to obtain US $125 million in new financing by Tuesday’s deadline. Earlier this week, Quebecor World announced it would collect a $400 million bailout package from private equity fund Tricap Partners and parent company Quebecor. The deadline has since been pushed to Jan. 20. Yesterday’s shares were down 60.64% from Tuesday and just a year ago, those shares were worth more than $17, the Canadian Press reported.

NewPage reveals restructuring plan
MIAMISBURG, OH—NewPage will begin integrating itself with the newly purchased Stora Enso North American (SENA), by closing a converting facility and transitioning sheeting operations, the company announced yesterday. “Despite the permanent closures being announced today, we are merging the operations in a manner that will actually increase our 2008 North American production by 3-8% compared to the combined production in 2007,” said Mark A. Suwyn, NewPage CEO and chairman of the board, in a press release.
Some of the changes announced include the permanent closures of a converting facility in Ohio, a pulp mill and four paper machines in Wis. and Me., all to be shuttered by the end of the year. More than 650 employees will be affected. NewPage says the products made on the closed machines will start being produced using more efficient ones.

Pazazz Printing owner broadcasts love for print
MONTREAL—Pazazz Printing president, owner and CEO Warren Werbitt has created an unconventional way to promote print. A YouTube video titled “Printing’s Alive” features the CEO in a three minute long video passionately praising the benefits of print as well as addressing some misconceptions. Filmed on location at Pazazz’s Montreal plant in October, the spot took more than 12 hours to shoot and features actual employees including Werbitt, who incidentally has no prior acting experience. Lori Cohen, marketing director at Pazazz, says the reaction has been, “overwhelmingly positive.” “We like to be different,” Cohen says. “The goal was to make people laugh.” The video has already been viewed close to 9,000 times since being posted last week and Cohen says she suspects it will reach 10,000 by the end of the week.

January 15, 2008Xerox re-invents its corporate identity

NORWALK, CT—Xerox’s transformation is complete with the unveiling of its new logo last week. All lowercase and with a sphere marked with the letter “X” the new vibrant red logo is meant to give a fresh, modern look to the brand and reflect its many products and services. “Our new brand reflects who we are, the markets we serve and the innovation that differentiates us in our industry,” said Xerox chairman and CEO Anne. M. Mulcahy in a statement. In the works for two years, and created after extensive research from 57,000 Xerox workers and users, this is the first major overhaul of the logo since 1961. Xerox says it plans to roll out the new logo gradually on business cards, equipment, brochures and the web over the next 18 months.

October shipments up
OTTAWA—October printing shipments tallied up to the best monthly performance of the year, and handily outpaced the industry’s performance a year ago, according to monthly data from Statistics Canada. But, year-to-date shipments still lag a bit. Note that these numbers are not seasonally adjusted.

Shipments

2007

2006

Change

October

$943.07 million

$843.33 million

11.8%

Year to date

$8.17 billion

$8.23 billion

-.73%

CPIA releases new survey
OTTAWA—The CPIA has invited those in the Graphic Communications industry to fill out a new survey, prepared by its Government Affairs Committee. Everyone who completes the survey will be automatically entered into a draw for free registration to the Strategy 08’ Conference in Halifax in September. To access the survey, please click here.

January 10, 2008St. Joseph CEO to receive Words and Deeds award
TORONTO—Executive chairman and CEO of St. Joseph Communications, Tony Gagliano will be awarded the Words and Deeds Leadership Award at a gala in Toronto on March 6. Presented by the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy (CIJA) and the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, the award honours individuals who contribute to humanitarian causes as well as foster tolerance and civil discourse in society. Gagliano is known for his contributions to the arts, education and the environment.

New Komori for Edmonton shop
EDMONTON—Elite Lithographers in Edmonton is the new owner of a 6-colour Komori Lithrone S640C with tower coater and extended delivery. The press features a fully automatic plate-changing system and print quality control with PDC-S Print Density Control-Spectrophotometer. Elite has been in business since 1979, and specializes in prepress, screenprinting and more recently, short-run printing and fine-art reproduction.

In front of the new Komori are: Ken Colwill, left, and Fred DeJong.

Marine Printers opt for a 5-colour Komori NL528C
VANCOUVER—Marine Printers has added a 5-colour Komori NL528C with tower coater and extended delivery to its Vancouver pressroom. It comes with semi-automatic plate changers, CIP 3/4 data transfer and Komorimatic Delta Dampening. Marine Printers was founded in 1931 and is a family operated business.

Matt McKenzie, left, and Bill George, with the new Komori press.

January 8, 2008Former Cascades mill sold to Thunder Bay Fine PapersTHUNDER BAY, ON—The Cascades paper Mill, idled since 2006, has been sold to Thunder Bay Fine Papers, community paper the Thunder Bay’s Source reported yesterday. A $1.5 million grant from the Northern Ontario Heritage fund helped finalize the purchase, which has been in the works for two years. Andre Nicol, a spokesman for Thunder Bay Fine Papers, told the Source that$42.7 million was required to seal the deal and the Fine Papers Group was unable to secure enough outside investment prior to the grant. The mill is expected to be back up and running in April, with about 250 employees, which could swell to 500, with spin-off jobs in the surrounding area.

Trade Watch—Another slow month on the trade front
OTTAWA—October data from Statistics Canada reveal another slow month of trading activity, with both imports and exports falling, just as they did in September. Imports from the U.S. slid to $82.64 million from $99.34 million in October 2006, while exports dropped to $101.45 million from $126.93 million. Our balance of trade for the year-to-date period also took another hit. It now stands at $52.29 million from $204.72 million last year —a 74.5% decline

EXPORTS

2007

2006

Change

October

$125.79 million

$145.34 million

-13.5%

Year to date

$1.20 billion

$1.30 billion

-7.8%

IMPORTS

2007

2006

Change

October

$122.55 million

$133.40 million

-8.13%

Year to date

$1.15 billion

$1.10 billion

4.7%

New Acuity 2504 for Toronto shop
TORONTO—Prime Imaging has added a Fujifilm Acuity 2504 to its
pressroom. The company, which caters to high-end retailers and financial companies, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. It specializes mainly in prepress, digital printing, vehicle graphics and banners and posters.

With the Acuity from left to right are: M. Scott Currie, president of Prime Imaging, and Richard Thompson, account manager at Fujifilm Canada.

January 3, 2008Ownership of Lindsay Press changes hands
ST. CATHARINES, ON—Lindsay Press changed ownership in mid- December, and is now called Econoprint/Lindsay Press. Rod Joanisse, owner of Econoprint, a commercial quick-printer is now at the helm. Lindsay press dealt mainly in specialty printing, such as foils, embossing and invisible inks. The two companies are now housed under the same roof and employ 15 people.

Acquisition of SENA by NewPage a done deal
MIAMISBURG, OH—NewPage has closed the deal to take over Stora Enso North America’s (SENA) paper manufacturing operations. The transaction, which became final on Dec. 21, 2007, will see SENA divest eight fine, specialty and publication paper mills, including one in Port Hawkesbury, N.S. NewPage will take on about US$450 million in net liabilities and the transaction includes US$ 1.5 billion in cash, US$200 million in vendor notes, and 19.9% of the outstanding shares. NewPage is now the biggest manufacturer of coated paper in North America.